Moscow, Aug 7 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Russia Saturday accused the US of violating its obligations under bilateral nuclear arms reduction treaties.
Russia is dissatisfied with the US’s fulfilment of its obligations under agreements on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the foreign ministry said in a statement.
‘In the period of the validity of Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1), Russia’s concerns in regard to the observance of the treaty by the US were not allayed,’ the statement said.
‘Russia has more than once expressed its concerns in connection with the unsanctioned re-equipping of five ICBM launch facilities for international ballistic missiles at a testing ground at the Vandenberg (Air Force Base) with interceptor missiles, something that goes against the terms of the treaty,’ the ministry said.
The re-equipping of US heavy bombers was cause for concern, it said, adding the US had violated a number of other terms of the treaty, including on chemical and biological weapons.
A new START treaty was signed April 8 in Prague, replacing the START 1 treaty that expired in December 2009. The new pact obligates both nations to cap their fielded strategic nuclear weapons to 1,550 warheads, while the number of deployed and non-deployed delivery vehicles must not exceed 800 on either side.
The Russian and US presidents have agreed that the ratification processes should be simultaneous.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
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